Two BMC ward officers caught accepting bribe in Mumbai, arrested

(Picture for representation)

Less than a month after the Kamala Mills fire, two senior Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officers from the G/South Ward were arrested by the anti-corruption bureau (ACB) on Friday for accepting a bribe in return for issuing a license to a Worli establishment.

The accused have been identified as Sandeep Kamalakar Kamerkar, 44, inspector, shops and establishment, G/South ward in Lower Parel and Veena Vijay Mestry, 53, senior inspector, of the same department. “The complainant is an agent who provides online services to the clients who need license and permissions,” said a senior ACB officer. “He had submitted an online proposal for his client to start an establishment in Worli.”

When the complainant visited the G/South Ward, both the accused demanded a bribe of Rs5,000 and later negotiated it to Rs4,000 for sanctioning the proposal. The complainant, who did not wish to pay the bribe, approached the ACB. “A trap was laid, in which Sandeep was caught red-handed while accepting the bribe. We also arrested Veena from her desk,” said the officer.

The ACB later conducted house searches of the two accused. “This incident shows that corruption is still underway in the BMC, even after 14 lives were lost in such a major fire,” said the officer. Despite repeated attempts, Devendra Jain, assistant municipal commissioner, G/South Ward, was not available for comment.